Word: plasticity
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Filmmaker “Dauphin,” (with the scores of the Bourne and Matrix series playing in the background), goes past plastic green lawn chairs (not very glamorous, but hey, it’s a recession, people) and down into a dark chamber. Where there’s a coffin. A COFFIN. Oh, and what looks like random bones...
...imagine if Babbage hadn't abandoned it. Fork the timeline. Imagine if computing technology had developed along the lines of Babbage's vision: brass and steel instead of silicon and plastic; clockwork instead of electronics. In fact, imagine if all the great technological revolutions of the past 100 years hadn't happened. Our world would run on Victorian tech--it would be a handmade, steam-powered world, finished in leather and mahogany. It's an elegant, romantic vision. And it has a name: steampunk...
...same way punk took back music, steampunk reclaims technology for the masses. It substitutes metal gears for silicon, pneumatic tubes for 3G and wi-fi. It maximizes what was miniaturized and makes visible what was hidden. Where the iPhone is all stainless steel and high-gloss plastic, steampunk is brass and wood and leather. Steampunk isn't mass-produced; it's bespoke and unique, and if you don't like it, you can tinker with it till...
Steampunk is like a snapshot from the last moment in human history when technology was intelligible to the layman. "The Internet is global and seemingly omniscient, while iPods and phones are all microscopic workings encased in plastic blobjects," Westerfeld says. "Compare that to a steam engine, where you can watch the pistons move and feel the heat of its boilers. I think we miss that visceral appeal of the machine...
...While many speculate that this is an unattainable goal, no one can argue that we need to take better care of our planet. Go “green” this year and give presents that give back to the environment. Help cut down on fuel consumption by forgoing plastic water bottles—it takes 1.5 billion barrels of oil per year to meet America’s demands for plastic water bottles and 20 years for them to decompose in a landfill. A stainless-steel water-bottle would be a great alternative to bottle up the beverages. Kleen...